I am a Tax Partner in WithumSmith+Brown’s National Tax Service Group and the founding father of the firm's Aspen, Colorado office. I am a CPA licensed in Colorado and New Jersey, and hold a Masters in Taxation from the University of Denver. My specialty is corporate and partnership taxation, with an emphasis on complex mergers and acquisitions structuring. In the past year, I co-authored CCH's "CCH Expert Treatise Library: Corporations Filing Consolidated Returns," was awarded the Tax Adviser's "Best Article Award" for a piece titled "S Corporation Shareholder Compensation: How Much is Enough?" and was named to the CPA Practice Advisor's "40 Under 40."

In my free time, I enjoy driving around in a van with my dog Maci, solving mysteries. I have been known to finish the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle in less than 7 minutes, only to go back and do it again using only synonyms. I invented wool, but am so modest I allow sheep to take the credit. Dabbling in the culinary arts, I have won every Chili Cook-Off I ever entered, and several I haven’t. Lastly, and perhaps most notably, I once sang the national anthem at a World Series baseball game, though I was not in the vicinity of the microphone at the time.

Golfer Phil Mickelson May Call It Quits Due To Climbing Tax Rates

JANUARY 20: Phil Mickelson hits his second shot on the tenth hole at the Nicklaus Private Course at the PGA West during the second round of the Humana Challenge. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Word is, Phil Mickelson is mad as hell about rising tax rates, and he’s not going to take it anymore. What follows is a brief portion of an interview Mickelson gave earlier today after carding a final-round 66 at the Palmer Course at PGA West in La Quinta – which I assure you, is not associated with the La Quinta next door to your local Denny’s – in which the golfer hinted that he is considering drastic career changes because of a combined tax rate nearing “62, 63 percent:”

Q. When you’re asked about Stricker’s semi-retirement, with the political situation the last couple months, blah, blah, blah, what did you mean by that? Do you find it an unsettling time in a way?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, it’s been an interesting offseason. And I’m going to have to make some drastic changes. I’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes.

PHIL MICKELSON: I’m not sure what exactly, you know, I’m going to do yet. I’ll probably talk about it more in depth next week. I’m not going to jump the gun, but there are going to be some. There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and, you know, it doesn’t work for me right now. So I’m going to have to make some changes.

To be honest, it’s hard to blame Mickelson – who has compiled a net worth approaching $180 million by repeatedly striking a tiny white ball until it falls into a hole — for putting all options on the table, which according to some, include the possibility of prematurely shutting down his career to avoid his rising tax burden. Let’s take a look at what Mickelson is up against in 2013:

For starters, courtesy of President Obama’s re-election and the subsequent fiscal cliff negotiations, Mickelson will experience an increase in his top tax rate on ordinary income from 35% to 39.6%, and an increase in his top rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends from 15% to 20%. Clearly, when faced with tax hikes of that magnitude, it stops making economic sense for Mickelson to continue to swing a metal stick up to 70 times a day in exchange for the $48 million he earns on an annual basis.

But it gets worse. Thanks to the expiration of the temporary 2% reduction in the payroll tax rate on the first $113,700 of self-employment income, Mickelson will have to fork over an extra $2,274 in tax during 2013, an additional burden that makes it hard to justify briskly walking as many as five miles per day, four days a week. In long pants, nonetheless.

And then there’s the impact of Obamacare. When you consider that from now on, Mickelson will be liable for an additional 0.9% tax on his self-employment income and 3.8% tax on his net investment income after each exceeds $250,000, what’s left over from the multi-million dollar endorsement deal requiring him to sport a Rolex watch while playing private courses in exotic locales hardly seems worth it.

If you think perhaps Mickelson is being a bit of a baby for threating to end a career that’s earned him a spot on this list of 10 wealthiest athletes on the planet because of some tax increases, understand that he’s getting hit on the state level, too. In November, California passed Proposition 30, which increases the top income tax rate on resident millionaires to 13.3%, a drain on Mickelson’s take-home pay that may force him to sell his 9,500 square foot mansion and flee his home state in search of more friendly pastures.

Should Mickelson follow through on his promises, he is fortunate that there is no shortage of countries across the globe that offers an opportunity for a man to earn exorbitant riches by playing a game. But I, for one, would encourage Mickelson to stay the course, continue to fight the good fight, and hire a savvy tax advisor. He shouldn’t have to look too far; after all, one of the sponsors that paid Phil an estimated $44 million in 2012 was KPMG.

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I pay taxes all the time and have so for more than 35 years, and guess what, I am happy. This year my top tax rate is 28%. My California rate will be around 10%. I’m really happy. I’ll tell you why. Because I make enough money to contribute to the land that makes my life possible. I’m glad because the Bush tax cuts have been proven a selfish fraud, sold to selfish people who do not understand their full duty as a citizen to this country, as incapable of any significant job creation as promised. gorman, you confuse income with hard work. There are people in the construction trades who work a lot harder than Mickelson. I work a lot harder than Phil does, I work weekends, pretty much every weekend this past year, lots of long days too and there’s not a cocktail or steak waiting for me at a 9500 square foot home. My partner with Multiple Sclerosis works some pretty hard long hours and weekends and her “vacation days” are rife with phone calls to and from work, if she is NOT at work already. Despite, I might say working for a company that has little respect for its workers. But because of her MS she has to keep her job. Remember this gorman, the next time when you and your wanna be freeloading ilk thank Jesus at the table for the fruits of your labor, there’s a farm worker out there saying, “de nada”.

he just has to rename himself as a non-profit entity, (registered in the Caymans) assign his wife and children as directors and board member and pay them triple what they think they are worth. he would become a figure head of charity, generosity and unparalleled schemes!

I think it is more about the enabling of a socialistic society where the wealthy are punished for their success. Phil is not a greedy man and I’m sure he give plenty of money to charity, he probably just has an issue with his money going to corrupt politicians so they can go out and purchase themselves more elections.

Suck it up Phil… I am retired on S.S. and savings. If you are concerned about the welfare of your children, don’t despare. If you ever get low on funds where you can’t feed your kids, call me… I have enough. I suppose the richer one gets the more one feels the economic pinch